Recommended Preferred Alternative LRT on Niagara Falls Blvd. to - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Recommended Preferred Alternative – LRT on Niagara Falls Blvd. to I-990

LRT Extension • Supports the Purpose and Need • Best performing when evaluated against the selection criteria • Highest ridership • Most competitive travel time between key activity centers • Access to jobs, commercial centers, recreation, education and medical centers • One seat ride • Most sustainable and reliable • Consistent with regional and local plans • Consistent with public and stakeholder feedback • Potential for billions of direct, indirect and induced economic impact

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Study

Corridor Context Extraordinary opportunity to leverage Downtown, Main Street and Campus growth through enhanced transit Realizing continued revitalization along the corridor Four segments for analysis: 1 - Downtown 2 - Main Street 3 - Niagara Falls Blvd/Eggertsville 4 - UB North Campus/Audubon

Developers are Responding to the New Market Trends There are approx. $7.4 billion of investment recently built, under construction, or in the planning phase just in the Downtown

More Investment is On the Way, And Not Just in Downtown

Significant Future Investment and Provide a Boost to Local Government Revenues • Future development could add 8.4 million square feet of space for both commercial and residential uses with a total assessed valuation of approximately $1.7 billion • Existing properties within a half mile of the transit corridor could see an additional $310 million increase in assessed values with the Metro Rail extension. • This would translate in a 32 percent increase in property tax revenues for jurisdictions in the region in a scenario where the Metro Rail extension is built

TOD Project Next Steps • Targeted public outreach and focus group participation • Develop five station area plans • Study Outcomes: • Identification of funding mechanisms for rail line and TOD • Standing TOD Council/Advisory Committee • Identification of policy changes – zoning, regulatory, taxing • Catalog of readiness and desire

Realizing the Potential – Extension Next Steps • Environmental Review/Clearances and Preliminary Engineering • Request Entry into FTA’s Project Development • Gain Commitments for non- Federal funding • Enter into Final Design and Engineering • FTA grant agreement and construction